Before I start on this next game against the intriguing Islanders, I want to go back and look a little at the San Jose game.
The 4-1 score was extremely flattering as without Mike Smith it would be a blowout. Smith ended up stopping 47 of 50 shots and looks again to be in top form…Hertl’s second was a bit suspect. The Sharks were just cutting through them all night long, half the time through 3 players with amazing passes that might have been stopped had the Coyotes actually been moving their feet. I wasn’t surprised that they lost, the Sharks have destroyed them at home about 99% of the time and even against any opponent the Shark Tank is a very fortress-like environment. I expect a much better effort level and more importantly something needs to happen with that first PP unit and first line, they need to get things going.
Final thoughts on that game…the Sharks are dangerous, extremely dangerous. Their defense isn’t the greatest, but it doesn’t seem to matter since they control the puck and play so methodically. With a PP that can host Couture, Thornton, Marleau, Burns, Boyle, Pavelski and young Hertl…that’s just insane and it showed. Added to this they have Niemi who has been playing some phenomenal hockey since he arrived, I expect them to win the division.
So the Islanders…first things first, Derek Morris left the game against the Sharks and has been listed as day-to-day with an “upper body” injury. He did not practice on Monday and the speculation is that he will not be in against the Islanders. This leaves two veteran defenders out with Klesla being the other. Enter Michael Stone. Stone has been in my mind rather unfairly benched to start the year, most likely for the purpose of not having a bottom-pairing of Rundblad-Stone which has a total of 93 NHL games most of it being in sparring minutes and both being only 23, so he put the veteran Schlemko out there instead. Now he will be forced to play Stone, and probably with Yandle, a great chance to show that the very strong end to the season where he was playing 23+ minutes a night was a sign of things to come.
Last season the Coyotes were…to put it politely…garbage on the road at 7-10-7 and the aforementioned manhandling from the Sharks is an early warning bell of potential things to come. They will play the Islanders for the first time since January 7, 2012 where the Coyotes won 5-1. So not really much to go on in terms of predictions and matchups.
Obviously the biggest threat on the ice is Hart runner-up John Tavares now captain of the Islanders. Even if they don’t have that top-line really figured out yet with the revolving door of new right wingers (Parenteau, Boyes, Bailey), it’s dangerous because of Tavares. Other things to worry about are the human breakaway machine Grabner and his centre Nielsen.
For the Coyotes there aren’t expected to be many changes other than one of Stone or Summers coming in for Morris…it had better be Stone. Overall I’ve been extremely disappointed in the play of David Moss on that third line. While Lessio and Vermette have been skating hard and putting a lot of effort, Moss seems to be a step behind the play. I’m not even sure I like him on the penalty kill, especially over two guys who are skating so well right now in Klinkhammer and Boedker. Seriously taking Boedker off the PK is a mistake, I get that they want to get him out into more offensive situations, but his speed would really help.
This is the final game of Paul Bissonnette’s suspension and just by going by the ice-time and the interviews by Tippett Lucas Lessio will be the one staying and Chris Brown sent down to the AHL. He’s languishing on that fourth line.
Expected lineup for the Coyotes :
Lauri Korpikoski – Mike Ribeiro – Shane Doan
Mikkel Boedker – Martin Hanzal – Radim Vrbata
Lucas Lessio – Antoine Vermette – David Moss
Rob Klinkhammer – Kyle Chipchura – Chris Brown
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Questionable with an upper-body injury) – Zbynek Michalek
Keith Yandle – Michael Stone*
David Rundblad – David Schlemko
Mike Smith
Smith will almost certainly get the start with the strong start he’s having and the major time between games.
Thanks for reading.
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